Review Round-Up
Books, movies, and shows I read/watched in May.
Look at that, I’m back for another Review Round-Up! Let’s see how many months it takes to make this a habit.
Books
I read this for work and honestly, it’s a strong YA romance. I love Stevie and Nora’s relationship and the fresh take on an amnesia romance storyline. Even if it had an unrealistic ending, I thought it was appropriate and needed. Sometimes we have to hope that love is enough to change everything.
Holly Jackson is YA BookTok’s sweetheart and her newest (and longest) book has been getting some very good reviews, but it left me disappointed. While I couldn’t predict all the twists and enjoyed how everything ramped up near the end, it just felt off. It felt like many of the characters were British and speaking with fake American accents.
Thanks to The Next Best Book Club for sending me this for an honest review! Robinson’s anthology is incredibly strong, each story focusing on womanhood in some way whether that identity is found through motherhood, a job, or the characters are trying to learn who they are. I’m going to keep an eye out for more of her work!
I didn’t think I could love anything more than Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead but somehow (or I guess unsurprisingly) I did! Enid was a wonderful character to follow. I don’t know how Austin manages to so realistically show the struggles of her characters while also managing to write a funny story, but she’s done it again!
Witchcraft Therapy: Your Guide to Banishing Bullsh*t and Invoking Your Inner Power by Mandie Em - 4/5
Look, I was worried when I started this because of all the “boss babes” and “AF’s” and swearing. Not that I’m a prude or anything, but sometimes it can get excessive. I can understand selfcare without gratuitous swearing to seem cool. This book honestly surprised me though by how informative it was. It probably has to do with Em being a skeptic and believer in science while still being spiritual. A long way of saying that Em recognizes the importance of therapists and Western medicine and doesn’t believe crystals or spell work will cure everything. My kind of witchcraft!
I received this ARC at a conference and…I don’t know. It’s charming, it’s light, it’s cozy, it isn’t what I usually read. I don’t know if this is a translation issue or what but the book is listed as Adult but reads much more like Middle Grade, which isn’t a diss, it’s well-written. But when I’m reading something marketed towards adults I’m expecting something with a bit more detailed, from character to plot to everything in-between, which I didn’t get here. I did cry at the last chapter though.
Heartbreaker by Claudia Dey - 4/5
I loved Daughter so I had high hopes for this one and honestly was lost in the beginning. Dey throws readers into this Northern cult and you just kind of have to stumble around until things become clear, which they do. All the weird pieces end up clicking together into something marvelous making this book a surprise favourite.
Movies
The Killing of a Sacred Deer dir. Yorgos Lanthimos (2017) - 3.5/5
I’ve heard a lot about this and unlike some viewers (cough cough TikTok) I didn’t watch this for Barry Keogan, I watched it because it’s an adaptation of the myth of Iphigenia and I am a Greek mythology lover nerd. This movie was absolutely bizarre. It’s marketed as an absurdist psychological horror which is the perfect description. The acting is so odd, but I enjoyed the movie.
Black Bear dir. Lawrence Michael Levine (2020) - 3/5
I think there’s a lot of interesting things that this movie does but it also doesn’t seem to have good footing on what it wants to do. The movie is told in two parts, and I really think a third part could have tightened it up. Aubrey Plaza rocks in this though!
Joy Ride dir. Adele Lim (2023) - 3/5
A super strong three stars. I had a lot of fun watching this movie and Stephanie Hsu is amazing (AND WAS ROBBED OF AN OSCAR FOR EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE). I think the director ran out of money at some point because certain plot points were wrapped up conveniently easy, but this was still a fun time.
M3gan dir. Gerard Johnstone (2022) - 4/5
I loved this! It was so much fun and very campy. M3gan sings three songs and I want to know when some YouTube parody vlogger is going to make a musical of this. I can’t wait for this franchise to continue!
TV Shows
Watching a TV show with family means it takes literally forever to actually finish it. Still making our way through season and just like in life, more people have deid. Brenda and Nate are engaged and acting like this is a new thing even though I swear they got engaged after a car accident in season one. Their relationship is also rekindled because Brenda has become fulfilled by participating in sex work that Nate doesn’t know about. David ended things with a new paramour (who was played by Adam Scott, of all people), Claire’s guidance counsellor made a really weird comment about there being sexual tension between them that I don’t think will be brought up again. Ruth’s Russian boyfriend returned, and we met her sister played by Patricia Clarkson. I’d like to be done season two by the end of next month, but the way it’s going so far that looks unlikely.
Arlong Park was amazing! Poor Nami, but what a great arc! Logue Town was the perfect transitionary arc to get the characters to the Grand Line. I can’t wait to see what happens next!